Detective Game
by Sunny Lighter
Summary: Sequel to Secret Lives, When the Shonen Tantei get an invitation to compete it the Detective Game with other detectives around the world, they meet up with old friends, and new enemies. Detective Conan, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew crossover. On Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

A/N before reading this it would be best if you read Secret Lives, otherwise some thing won't make sense

**Detective Game**

**Chapter 1**

'_Thoughts'_

Japanese words

**Shinichi's POV**

"I'm boooored," moaned Genta, the other two real kids let out groans of agreement.

As much as I hate to admit it I agreed with them. I hadn't managed to stumble across a case in almost a week, that's probably a new record. But to be honest I could really use something challenging to stop the boredom (not that I want someone to die, but I'm almost wishing that there'd be a KID heist). But with nothing else to do, the five of us headed to the agency.

"Tadaima," I called as I entered.

"Ah, Conan-kun welcome home," called Ran. From the position she and Occhan were in I could tell she had just been lecturing him about his drinking again. She glared at his now passed out form, and with one last "Hmpf," then she turned towards me and the rest of the chibi brigade. "A letter came for you," she said hading it to me.

I couldn't help but admire Ran. It'd been two months since she'd found out who I really was and even though it shocked her she was very good at hiding it and acting like she still thinks I'm just sweet little Edogawa Conan. The only problem is that she's gotten into the habit of treating me like a baby when she's really annoyed with me.

I glanced at the letter and saw it was addressed too the entire Shonen Tantei, not just to me. When Genta saw that he snatched the letter from my hands and ripped it open, Out of it fell a letter and what looked like six plane tickets. "Sugoi, a new case for the Shonen Tantei," he shouted. But when he looked at the letter his grin turned to a look of confusion, "Nani I can't read it."

Mitsuhiko glanced over his shoulder, "It looks like it's written in English. You better give it back to Conan." He turned to me, "You can read English can't you."

I nodded and Genta grudgingly handed it back to me. I read aloud…

Dear Shonen Tantei

I would like to extend to you an invitation to join your fellow detectives from around the world at the 'Detective Game.' The competition takes place at the Blackstone Lodge in the Rocky Mountains of the U.S.A. Airplane tickets and other transportation is provided free of charge. Since the five of you are all so young there is an extra ticket provided for a guardian to join you. The ages of this competition range from 5-18 and the winner receives a special prize. We hope for you to join us there.

Signed: That's your job to figure out.

I didn't need to look up from the letter to know what I was going to see. Genta, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko were all very enthusiastic about wanting to go. Ayumi was already asking Ran to chaperone us (Which she agreed to do).

I was about to state my question about the letters authenticity when the phone rang. Ran answered, "Moshi Moshi, yes hold on a second." She held it out to me, "it's for you."

I held the phone to my ear, "Hai."

"Oi Kudo, did you get one?" Came Hattori's voice on the other end.

I blinked in confusion, "One what?"

"An invitation to this Detective Game competition ahou," was his rely

"You got one too?" Now I was really listening.

"Of course I did, I'm a detective aren't I," he said annoyed.

I rolled my eyes, "That's not what I meant," I then explained the situation, while the three real children hurried home to tell their parents. Ran meanwhile was taking advantage of her father's drunken stupor to ask permission for us to go (he let out a mumbled "yes, now let me sleep").

I talked with Hattori for a few more minutes we made plans to meet up at the airport since we had the same flight. Then I hung up on him when he began ranting about how he hoped Hakuba hadn't been invited as well.

I then turned to Haibara, "Well, are you coming too?" I asked.

She nodded and said with her creepy grin, "It might be wise for me to flee the country for a few days. Also you will need help with this. Since you and I are the only ones of the Shonen Tantei that are fluent in English, we will most likely be given the position of translators.

I sweatdropped, I hadn't thought of that.

_______________________________________________________________________

Three days later I fond myself strapped into a seat on an airplane bound for the U.S. Much to Hattori's displeasure Hakuba had indeed been invited and to add insult to injury the two had the misfortune to be seated next to each other. I was sitting next to Ran a few seats away and I could still hear the two arguing, I felt pity for the poor stewardess who was trying to get them to settle down.

"Ne Shinichi, what are you thinking about?" asked Ran, pulling me back to reality.

I glanced at her, "It's nothing much. I'm just hoping this gathering of detectives won't turn out to be like all the other ones we've been to.

She winced and nodded, she obviously remembered how much trouble all the other three lead to. "Maybe, this time will be different."

I didn't reply. I'm not a superstitious I didn't reply. I'm not a superstitious person, but even I knew that words like those were just asking for trouble.

___________________________________________________________

**Kaito's POV**

"Stuck-up British Ahou!!!

"So now you are reduced to immature name calling, what are you four?!!"

'_I wonder what I to deserve this?'_ I thought behind my poker face and stewardess costume as I continued to try (unsuccessfully) to get the two shouting detectives to settle down.

I had heard from Hakuba that he was going to this detective competition. And since all the other ones had led to mayhem and misery I decided to tag along just in case. Though I figured it would be best that I keep my presence as discreet as possible.

That easier said than done. Right now I was sorely tempted to use my knockout spray on the two in front of me, just to get them to shut-up. But that would probably give me away.

I sighed, _'this was going to be a long flight.'_

**End Chapter 1**

**_______________________________________________________**

A/N to get it out of the way I do not own Detective Conan. If I did you would be watching this on TV instead of reading it here. This story is mainly going to be a crossover between Detective Conan, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew but there are going to be a few minor ones too, more on that later.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

'_thoughts'_

"Japanese words"

": People speaking Japanese around English speaking people:"

**Joe's POV**

I stared out the window of the taxi as we pulled up in front to the Blackstone Lodge. Though to be honest Blackstone Castle would probably be a better name for it. The place was a huge Victorian manor with towers, actual towers.

"Looks like we're no the only ones here," commented Frank from his seat next to me.

I looked lower than the towers and saw a small group of people standing outside the front of the lodge (*cough castle cough*). As we pulled up I got a good look at them.

"I don't believe it," I muttered as we excited the car.

They all turned to look at me. "Ah, Joe-kun, Frank-san," gasped Ran Mouri. We'd met Ran and her friends on a case about three month ago while looking for her missing boyfriend, Shinichi Kudo. What we'd found was much more sinister, though Frank was unaware of most of it.

I could recognize most of the people standing with to her. To her right was Heiji Hattori, Shinichi's best friend and fellow detective. To her left was Saguru Hakuba, a detective whom we met briefly. Standing around her feet were five kids I recognized them as Conan Edogawa and his friends, which reminded me of a crazy though I had just as we were leaving Japan…

"Wow, when they said 'from around the world' they really meant it." said a voice behind me.

I turned to see a girl with curly black hair and purple streaks in her bangs exiting a cab behind me. I knew her as Cho Hiraita. We'd also met her briefly in Japan. As her cab drove off a few more came into view.

She walked up to us giggling, "From the looks of thing the only person missing is KID."

___________________________________________________________________

Inside the lodge a maid that had just started her first day at work sneezed.

___________________________________________________________________

"Oh," she said noticing Conan's friends, who had begun pestering him to translate what was being said for them. She bent down to make eye contact and said in almost flawless Japanese, ": Hello, My name's Hiraita Cho. What are your names?:"

"Yoshida Ayumi," squeaked the girl with the head scarf

"Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko," said the boy with freckles.

"Kojima Genta," said the large boy.

"Haibara Ai," muttered the brown-haired girl

": We're the Shonen Tantei,:" shouted the first three proudly showing off some fancy looking badges. On the other hand Conan looked like a cross between amused and annoyed, while the other girl, Ai looked bored.

": Ne, Conan-kun, how do you know Cho-neechan?:" asked Ayumi.

Conan told them about the KID heist as we entered the lodge. A cute maid told us that we were supposed to wait for the rest of the guests in the dinning room. Apparently we were the first ones there. But I'd seen more taxis pulling up as we came in so I knew it wouldn't be for long. Sure enough more people about our age or younger began to trickle in.

"Frank, and Joe Hardy I should have known you'd be here," said a new but familiar voice. As expected when I looked up I saw Nancy Drew, guess I should have expected her to be here too.

"Hi Nancy," said Frank, "nice to see you again."

"But don't think we're going easy on you, this is a competition after all," I said with a grin.

She grinned back, "Like wise. So I'm guessing that you know those other people too." She nodded towards the Japanese detectives, "I saw you talking with them as I drove up. Are they with ATAC too? Are you on assignment?"

The past few times we've run into Nancy we've always been on an ATAC (American Teens Against Crime) mission, and she's always managed to weasel her way into our investigation, much to Frank's annoyance.

"Not this time," said Frank truthfully. "We just got an invitation in the mail asking us to come. We thought that it sounded like fun."

"And as for those guys, no they're not from ATAC. They're some people we met on a mission in Japan a few months ago. The only ones we're really familiar with are the teenage girl, and the kid wearing glasses. The others are just acquaintances."

She didn't look entirely convinced. I don't really blame her, in the past we lied to keep her out of our investigation. But before she could ask any more questions the cute maid came in and asked for everyone to be seated.

Me and Frank sat where cards with our names on the said to. Then suddenly the whole room went dark and some of the younger kids screamed.

"Welcome and thank you for coming." Came a voice out of nowhere.

**End Chapter 2**

__________________________________________________________

A/N next chapter will get to introductions on all the other characters, but they're only a minor role.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Ai's POV**

I couldn't help but gasp as the lights went out. Next to me Yoshida-chan let out a tiny scream along with some of the other children in the room.

"Welcome and thank you for coming." Came a voice out of nowhere.

Then suddenly the candles that were set n the table flickered to life all at once and at the head of the table stood a dark figure.

"I you haven't already guessed I am the one who summoned you here," said the figure.

Kudo-kun and I shared an incredulous look as he began muttering translations for the others. _'Well whoever this person is they sure like to be dramatic.'_

"I will tell you your task to test your deductive reasoning, but first introductions are in order. Young lady if you please." The figure gestured towards the girl one the far end of the table.

"Okay I guess," she said standing up, even in the candle light I could see her skin was as dark as Hattori-san's and she had long frizzy hair. "Hello, my name is Jasmine Callihan, but most people call me Jas. I'm eighteen and I'm from L.A. California. I've wanted to be a sleuth since I was little, and I've solved a few cases, but my dad (whom I call the Thwarter) doesn't really approve. He also kinda doesn't know I'm here, so if you hear me on the phone telling him how much fun I'm having at Roxy and Tom's beach house, please go along with it and don't think I'm crazy." With that being said she sat down again.

'_Well that was certainly interesting.'_

The next person to stand up was Hiraita-chan whom we'd met at the front door. "Hi, I'm Cho Hiraita, and I'm seventeen. I suppose the best way to describe myself would be that I'm a trouble magnet, but they say problems happen to those who can solve them. I've solved a fair few cases, and I guess I'm pretty good." She started to sit down again but then something occurred to her. "Also, if any of you call me a diva, you'll find yourself hitting Mars," She concluded raising her fist for effect.

I heard Kudo-kun snicker so I figured she might actually do something to that effect.

After Hiraita-chan sat down a boy with brown hair and a girl with long dark hair stood up. The two hesitated then the girl elbowed the boy to get him to speak. "Ow, um. I'm Arthur Drake, I'm fifteen , and this is my friend Sarah Bustle, she's sixteen, we're from London England. I guess we became detectives after we found out that my grandfather and his friends had been detectives when he was my age. Since not many adults would listen to kids they invented the Invisible Detective to solve cases."

Hakuba-san spoke up. "I've heard that, no one ever did find out who he really was."

Drake-san grinned, "Yeah that was granddad. Anyway, me and Sarah have solved a few cases and we enjoy doing it." the two sat down.

It was now our turn, we all stood on our chairs so we could be seen above the table while Kudo-kun whispered instructions to them. Then he said, "Konnichi wa my name is Conan Edogawa, and these are my friends." One at a time each of said (or shouted in some cases), "Ayumi Yoshida," "Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya," "Genta Kojima," "Ai Haibara," then the three real children shouted in heavily accented English "We are the Shonen Tantei, the best detectives in the world."

"And I'm Ran Mouri, their chaperone," spoke up Mouri-chan

Kudo-kun continued "In English Shonen Tantei would be Detective Boys. Among us only Haibara and I are fluent in English, but Ran-neechan also knows some too. The six of us all come from Tokyo Japan, and we have solved many cases. Most of which are either murder or kidnapping, but we have solved a few thefts." With that we sat down.

That cause a stir among the other detectives, apparently they hadn't expected little kids to be involved in such serious affairs.

Next up was Hattori-san, "Sorry to bust the kid's bubble, but I'm the best detective there is. My name is Heiji Hattori, I'm from Osaka Japan and to date I have solved over a thousand cases.

Hakuba-san spoke up, "He's also the most hot-headed detective you'll ever meet."

"And he's also to hard-headed to admit to his girlfriend that he likes her," Kudo-kun piped in.

Hattori-san shot them both glares. "I am not hot-headed and she's not my girlfriend," he shouted, then sat down in an angry huff.

Hakuba-san stood up next, "My name is Saguru Hakuba. Due to my parent's situation I am usually in either London or Tokyo. I am able to solve murder cases, but recently I have been focusing my time towards the capture of the International Thief 1412, better known as Kaitou KID."

Hattori-san put in his two cents, "But, has yet to do so, probably because of his one-track mind."

Hakuba turned red and sat down again, the he and Hattori-san commenced to have a glaring contest.

There was a pause then four brown haired children stood up, the oldest taking center stage, "Um Hello, My name is Henry Alden, I'm fourteen, these are my sisters, Jesse, she's twelve, and Violet, she's ten. And this is my little brother…"

"Benny, I'm six, we also have a dog named Watch but we couldn't bring him." chirped the little boy enthusiastically.

The older boy smiled at him fondly, "Anyway, we've never solved anything as serious as murder, but we have solved several cases, mostly involving theft or fraud."

After they sat down another boy and girl stood up. The boy said, "My name is Leroy Brown, but most people call me Encyclopedia, and this is my friend Sally Kimball, we're both ten and from Idaville. My father is chief of police there and it's because of him I became a detective, but the two of us handle about the same kind of cases as the Aldens.

They sat down and a red haired girl I'd seen talking to the Hardys stood up. "Hi, my name is Nancy Drew, you might have heard of my father Carson Drew, the lawyer. I am eighteen and like Cho I'm a magnet for trouble, just ask anyone who knows me. I tend to get really wrapped up in cases that I forget everything else, so if you see me with only one sock or my shirt on backwards please remind me."

She sat down and three teenage boys stood up, one was slightly plump, another that was physically fit, the third wore glasses. The plump boy spoke up, "Hello, I'm Jupiter Jones, and these are my friends, Pete Crenshaw," the athletic boy, "and Bob Andrews," the one with glasses, "we call ourselves the Three Investigators. I'm the one with deductive reasoning, Pete is our action man, and Bob handles the research. We've solved cases of all kinds.

They sat down and the final contestants, the Hardy brothers, stood up. "I'm Frank and this is my younger brother Joe, we're from Bayport. We became detectives because our father was one and he taught us the tricks of the trade."

Next the staff introduced them selves. Among them was the owner of the lodge, an old but kind looking woman named Daisy May. There were two maids one who was young and attractive named Saki Kai, and an large strict woman who only introduced her self as Ms. Tahns. There was also a old Butler named Mr. Jives, a gardener and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, a cook named Mrs. Chase and her twelve year old son, Nicky, who would help her in the kitchen.

One all the introductions were completed we all turned back to our host. "Now to begin this game each contestant or group of contestants will be partnered with another, your objective is to go to where the clues in this riddle indicate," He said. "You will have until midnight tomorrow to reach your goal. Anyone who does not reach the goal will no longer be able to participate in this competition, but you will be welcome to stay and view the reminders of the game, if you wish."

He paused, probably to be dramatic, "the riddle is-

On magic number,

On spiral point,

Shows the way,

To grey halls,

Use your luck,

To continue on.

All around me I could hear the scribble of pens as everyone quickly jotted down the clue, Kudo-kun included.

"That is your fist challenge. Ms. Kai will tell you who your partners are. Good luck to all." And with that all the candles flickered out and for a few moments there was complete darkness. Then the electricity came back on and everyone began to drift towards Saki-san.

": That was so cool,:" squeaked Yoshida-chan to Tsuburaya-kun and Kojima-kun.

From behind them I heard Kudo-kun snort. I turned to him, "What, you didn't enjoy the show?" I asked.

He just shook his head, "It's not that I didn't enjoy it. It's just that our host made it much too obvious who he was."

Mouri-chan blinked in surprise, "Really Conan-kun, who?"

He didn't answer he just shook his head.

**End Chapter 3**

A/N, I used pretty much every mystery book I could think of for this, but like I said they are mostly just minor characters. Here's where I got them from, Jas Callihan from Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe (Awesome book, very funny). Cho Hiraita is MINE, she's a character I came up with in my comic Detective Diva which can be viewed on deviantart. Arthur Drake and Sarah Bustle are from the Invisible Detective series by Justin Richards (Which I am pretty much addicted to). Detective Conan and Magic Kaitou characters all belong to Gosho Aoyama (and how awesome they are pretty much speaks for it's-self). The Aldens are from the Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Warner (Loved them when I was a kid). Encyclopedia Brown and Sally Kimball are from the Encyclopedia Brown series (duh) by Donald Sobol (also loved them when I was a kid). Nancy Drew is from the Nancy Drew series (double duh) by Carolyn Keene (Awesome books). The Three investigators are from the Three Investigators series by Megan Stine (I haven't read many of them but I like what I have). And finally the Hardy Boys are a book series by Franklin Dixon (a good series but not as popular as Nancy Drew)


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Shinichi's POV**

Everyone crowded around Saki-san as she pulled out a hat with several slips of paper. "Of these there are two or three of each color, the person who draws the same color as you will be your teammate," she explained.

With that one person from each group reached in and drew a slip. When I flipped open the slip I drew, I saw that ours was red.

": Oh red,:" Ran squealed, ":my favorite color, how lucky.:"

": Really, that's cool. It's my favorite color too.:"

We all turned to see Hiraita-chan walking over to us holding the other red slip. ": I guess we're working together,:" she said. ": Which is lucky, since that means there's no need for a translator.:"

The rest of the teams were grouped up, The Hardys and Drew-chan were the team blue. Encyclopedia-san and Kimball-chan were teamed with Aldens to form team purple. In the yellow team was Drake-san and Bustle-chan paired with the Three Investigators. And for the green team…

": YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!:"

Everyone turned to the source of the shouting. It was Hattori doing the shouting (no surprise there), which was directed at poor Saki-san.

": Let us do a re-draw, there's NO WAY I'm teaming up with him!:" he shouted pointing at Hakuba, both of whom were holding green slips. He was so angry that he forgot to shout in English leaving Saki-san confused and apparently a bit frightened.

"He's asking for a re-draw, and frankly I agree," explained Hakuba in English. "I do not wish to team up with a reckless hot-head."

": WHAT DID YOU SAY!!!:" shouted Hattori rounding on him. The two proceeded to argue back and forth in furious Japanese.

I then noticed Callihan-chan was also holding a green slip, which made sense because due to the number of groups there would have to be one with a third person. Callihan-chan was watching the fireworks fairly nervously as if she didn't know if she should go over to them or stay out of it.

Hiraita-chan also seemed to notice. She then set her face with a determined look and strode over towards the bickering tantei.

When she reached them she took a deep breath and bellowed, ": BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!!!:"

And they did, both staring at Hiraita-chan in shock, but she didn't stop there.

": YOU TWO ARE ACTING LIKE BABIES WHEN YOU SHOULD BE ACTING LIKE RATIONAL DETECTIVES. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE PROBLEMS WITH EACH OTHER ARE BUT THEY END HERE AND NOW!!!:"

By now every one was staring at Hiraita-chan, most likely wondering how anyone could shout so much so loudly without taking a breath.

": AND YOU TWO AREN'T THE ONLY ONES ON THE GREEN TEAM! YOU TWO CAN FULNK OUT OF THIS COMPETITION IF YOU WANT, BUT IF YOU DRAG JASMINE DOWN WITH YOU, SO HELP ME, I WILL DROP KICK THE BOTH OF YOU OFF THE MOUNTAIN!!! **DO I MAKE MY-SELF CLEAR**?!!:" She finished shouting and was now gasping for breath. Everyone continued to stare at the three of them, nearby I heard Saki-san muttering under her breath something about "hiding the mops." Across the hall I overheard Drew-chan whispering to the Hardys, "I think I like that girl."

Once Hiraita-chan caught her breath she walked over to Callihan-chan and said kindly, "Don't worry, they should behave now. If not, let me know and I'll give them a few lumps."

Hattori and Hakuba seemed to notice her for the first time and began to walk over to her, both seemed a bit dazed.

Saki-san spoke up again, "W-well now that that's taken care of, if all the teams would please separate and do your best to figure out the first challenge. Good luck." She then quickly left the room, mumbling something about those in law enforcement all having "very good lungs."

________________________________________________________________________

(A/N from this point on I won't do the ": :" for speaking Japanese since until they meet up with the others again they'll all be speaking Japanese.)

**Ayumi's POV**

Those of us in team red excited the hall and headed upstairs to discuss the riddle. Genta-kun, Mitsuhiko-kun and I kept our distance from Cho-neechan, she seemed kind of scary.

Finally Ran-neechan decided to break the ice. "You were really great back there."

"Huh?" said Cho-neechan turning to her in surprise.

"The way you handled Hattori-kun and Hakuba-kun back there, you're honestly the only person who's ever gotten them to stop fighting," Ran-neechan explained.

She gave a tiny smile, "Oh that, it's nothing." She shrugged, "I've had some past encounters where certain people don't think a girl has what it takes to handle crime busting. So in order to prove myself I have to act tougher than all the boys."

'_I wonder if I'll ever have act all tough like that,'_ I wondered.

She then gave a bright smile and changed the subject, "So about that riddle, I've figured out the first line."

That made all of us completely forget our fear. "Really," I gasped.

She nodded, "It's three. I don't know if it's the same in Japan, but here in America three is considered to be the magic number. I don't quite remember why, but it has something to do with multiplication tables. So the first part of the clue most likely happens at three o'clock."

Mitsuhiko-kun Genta-kun and I were all stared at her in awe, while Conan-kun and Ai-chan looked thoughtful.

"So what we need is to find where the spiral point is, and we'll have to be there by three," Conan-kun deduced. He glanced at his watch and frowned, "that can't be the right time."

I looked at my own watch, it said that the time was 4:15. But Conan-kun was right that couldn't be the time, we'd just had lunch before we got here.

"Let me see," said Cho-neechan lifting up Mitsuhiko-kun's wrist to see the time. She then glanced at her own watch and giggled. "I see the problem, you all forgot to set your watches back when you got here. The correct time is 1:15 for this time zone."

"Then we have about two hours to find where we need to go," Conan-kun continued fixing his watch. "Let's split up and see if we can find anywhere that matches that description and we'll stay in touch using our badges. I'll partner with Ran-neechan since she doesn't have a badge but someone will have to pair up with Cho-neechan."

"I'll do it," said Ai-chan.

He nodded, and then turned to the rest of us. "Why don't you three stick together, that way you'll be easier to find if you get lost."

Then our three groups split up. I turned to the boys, "Let's start upstairs I want to see the towers."

The boys agreed and the three of us then ran up the stairs. "Wouldn't it be so cool is we were able to solve the riddle before Conan," said Genta-kun.

I was surprised and a bit sad to hear Genta-kun say that, "But Genta-kun…"

"Yeah, then we would get to see his defeated face," agreed Mitsuhiko-kun.

They weren't listening to me, so I decided to take a leaf out of Cho-neechan book, and got tough. I turned on them angrily, "That's not the point. We're not here to beat Conan-kun we're here as the Shonen Tantei to show all the rest of the detectives that we're the best. That means we need Conan-kun and Ai-chan's help along with Cho-neechan since we're on the same team."

They both jumped back in shock from hearing me say things like that. "Yes, ma'am," squeaked Mitsuhiko-kun. "Let's go find that Tower," shouted Genta. And then they both ran off.

For a second I stood there blinking in surprise, '_wow that actually worked, cool.'_

________________________________________________________________________

We finally found the door to one of the towers, It was heavy so all three of us had to push to get it open.

When we did manage to get it open we walked in, and looked up.

To get to the top of the tower we would have to climb the longest spiral staircase I've ever seen.

"Wow, that's high," shouted Genta-kun.

"I wonder how many steps there are," I asked no one in particular.

Mitsuhiko-kun didn't say anything, he was thinking. He was copying what Conan-kun did when he was deep in thought by putting his chin in his hand and staring at the ground hard.

Finally he said, "I think we might have found the spiral point."

Both Genta-kun and I turned to him, "Really, where?" shouted Genta-kun staring around wildly.

Then I got it, "The staircase, it's a spiral, we have to be at the top of the tower at three o'clock."

The three of us grinned at each other. "I'll call Conan-kun," I said reaching for my badge.

**End Chapter 4**

___________________________________________________________________

A/N Yeah, I think I love torturing Heiji and Hakuba a little too much, poor Kaito and Jas. Also I hope I wasn't to OCC with Ayumi, but I really wanted to see her get tough, instead of being the little damsel in distress again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Heiji's POV**

'Why of all people did I have to get stuck with that Ahou?' I though as Hakuba, Callihan-chan and I trudged up the spiral staircase to the west tower. Although it hadn't been too bad so far, He and I had nearly started arguing a few times already, but we always caught ourselves. I don't know about him, but the thought of Hiraita-chan's rant always came back. She was a bit like Kazuha, scary when angry, and extremely loud.

The three of us had managed to figure out the first two lines of the riddle, and were heading up to the tower to find out what to do next.

I glanced up as I heard the sound of footsteps descending the stairs. It was Kudo and his team. We stepped aside to let them pass. As they did Kudo turned to me and said, "You re on the right track, Heiji-niichan."

I couldn't tell if he was teasing us or encouraging us, but I kept my mouth shut and started running up the rest of the steps. The other two followed in suit.

When we reached the top I immediately began searching for any type of clue. Soon it became a race between me and Hakuba over who could find it first, while Callihan-chan watched. Eventually she grew bored watching us and walked over to lean against the railing of the tower. "The view is beautiful from up here," she remarked.

Frustrated I walked over to take a look at the scenery. As I glance down I spotted something that caused me to do a double take.

I turned to Callihan-chan and grinned. "You're a genius," I said to her. than I turned and started running back down the stairs. Hakuba and Callihan-chan shared a surprised look then ran after me.

"Hattori, what are you doing?" Hakuba shouted from the top of the stairs.

I glanced back at him, "Ahou, didn't you see the tower's shadow? It looked like it was pointing towards something, that would explain why the riddle said to be up there around three o'clock." With that I continued to run back down the stairs, with the sound of Hakuba and Callihan-chan following behind me.

'We'd better hurry if we want to catch up with Kudo'

___________________________________________________________________________

**Frank's POV**

"I see, so after that you guys came back to America and that was it." Nancy concluded.

The three of us were standing in the front hall. Joe and I had just finished filling her in about the case were we met the Japanese detectives. "I still can't shake the feeling that we missed something on that case," I remarked allowed.

Nancy shrugged, "Maybe it's the fact that you didn't find Shinichi Kudo, he found you." She then thought for a second, "Or maybe, if you really think about it, that excuse he gave you about his disappearance was kind of lame."

It was than that I noticed that Joe was looking unconformable. When he noticed us looking at him he quickly said, "Well the next time we see Ran why don't we ask her, after all she is the one who hired us."

Just then the green team, Heiji, Saguru, and Jasmine ran past us not really noticing us. They hurried out the front door slamming it shut behind them.

Joe stared after them, "What's got them in such a hurry?"

Nancy looked thoughtful, "You know, that group of little Japanese kids headed out that way a few minutes ago. Maybe they figured something out before us."

I shrugged, "Maybe, those Japanese guys are pretty sharp."

Joe and I shared a look, "Do you think we should follow them?" He asked.

I frowned, "We could but that might be considered cheating. What do you think Nancy?" I turned to look at her but she was no longer there. "Nancy?" I called again.

"Over here," she called.

I spotted her half-way out the front door. She turned back to look at us, "Come on you guys, move it, or loose it."

"Well, that answers that question," said Joe as he took off after her.

I sighed, "Am I the only one who wants to follows the rules?" I asked myself as I hurried after them.

__________________________________________________

**Shinichi's POV**

After figuring out the tower clue we followed the tower's shadow till we reached a small cliff with a narrow opening.

":A Cave!!!:" shouted the three real children excitedly.

":I guess that's what the riddle meant by gray halls,:" said Ran as we filed inside.

"Oi, Ku-uh-Conan-kun wait up."

I glanced back to see Hattori and his team running towards us, the Hardys and Drew-chan weren't far behind.

I glared at Hattori, ":Get it right,:" I hissed. "Besides you do know this isn't a race. The goal is to solve the riddle, not be the first one there."

He grinned, "Except bragging rights." He then glared at the Hardys and Drew-chan, "Let me guess, you saw us heading out and decided to follow us instead of just solving the riddle."

The three sweatdropped and said nothing

We all headed into the cave. As we walked Ran turned to Hattori and asked, ":By the way, how did Kazuha react to you coming here.:"

Hattori blinked, then smacked his head, ":I knew I'd forgotten something.:"

As if on cue Hattori's cellphone started to ring. He hesitated then answered it, "Moshi moshi."

":WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU, AHOU!!!:" Kazuha's voice erupted out of the cellphone and caused an echo inside the cave.

Hattori held the cellphone as far from his ear as he could, and the entire group stopped to stare at him.

Hattori recovered and began to shout back into the phone, "America, Ahou!"

":What are you doing there?:"

Everyone sweatdropped and began moving again while Hattori walked along continuing to shout into the phone, as they did Hakuba grinned smugly.

A few minutes later we all came to a large chamber with several other tunnels, each one with a number above it, the numbers went up to twenty. We all stopped to decide which tunnel to take.

Genta spoke up first ":The last part of the riddle said 'Use your luck'. so maybe we're supposed to just pick one and hope we're lucky.:"

Frank-san translated what he said, while I answered him, ":Baarro, if we were supposed to do that then we might as well check every door till we hit the right one.:" I then repeated myself in English.

"The answer is obvious isn't it," spoke up Hiraita-chan.

We all turned to look at her and she continued, "like Genta said the last clue was to 'use your luck,' by American standards what is considered a lucky number." She also repeated herself in Japanese.

Drew-chan caught on first, "Seven, we go into tunnel number seven."

As we entered the tunnel Mitsuhiko whispered, ":But I thought eight was the lucky number.:"

":That's only by Japanese standards,:" I whispered back.

We'd finally reached the end of the tunnel which was marked by a door.

"That's something you don't see everyday," mumbled Joe-san.

Ran reached forward and opened the door, she looked inside and screamed.

Everyone rushed forward to see what had caused her to scream. What we saw inside the room caused Callihan-chan, Drew-chan, Genta, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko to follow Ran's example and scream, Hiraita-chan gasped, Hattori, and the Hardys cursed, and Hakuba began desperately reaching to find his pocket watch. I just stared at what was hanging in the room just beyond the door. It was the butler that we'd met in the dinning hall, and he was dead.

**End Chapter 5**

__________________________________________________________  
A/N I'm really sorry it took this long to write this chapter, I go kicked off the other computer I'd been using and the one I'm currently useing doesn't have Word, that and I've had a lousy case of writers block. I'll try to step up the pace on both my stories. and more on the grisaly details in the next chapter. also, please let me know if I'm letting Cho have all the limelight, I can't help but love my character.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Heiji's POV**

"Jives-san," gasped Ran staring at the butler's corps.

Said corps was hanging from a light fixture on the wall (the kind use to hold torches) by the collar of his suit, there was a large blood stain on his chest.

Kudo (being **very** used to this sort of thing) darted in ahead of us over to the dead butler and grabbed his wrist. After holding it for a few seconds he glanced back and shook his head.

Hakuba pulled out his pocket watch, "Three forty-five, and thirty six seconds, the time of discovered and confirmed death."

"From the stiffness of his wrist I'd say he's only been dead for only one to two hours," Kudo called over to us.

With that confirmation I took charge I took charge, "Neechan, you'd better get the kids (except for Ku-Conan-kun) out of here, take them back to the dinning hall. Callihan-chan call the police, then wait in the dinning hall with the others. Hiraita-chan see if you can round everyone else up and meet them there. Get everyone's alibis while your at it."

The three girls nodded and hurried out of the room with the kiddy crew in tow.

Those of us remaining moved in to examine the crime scene. Kudo already had a head start on the rest of us examining the wall. "From the blood splatters on the wall I'd say he was standing on that balcony before what ever killed him knocked him over the edge, then he got caught on the the torch holder." He said gesturing to an indoor balcony from a floor above of us.

Drew-chan glanced at Kudo in surprise, "You're pretty observant little boy."

That caused Kudo to go into his usual panic at his intelligence being noticed. "I-I learned a lot from Heiji-niisan," he stammered glancing a me in desperation, "Ne, Heiji-niisan."

I bit back a laugh and nodded, "Yeah, the kid's like my assistant, I taught him everything he knows." I said scruffing his hair a little bit. I had to hold back another laugh as Kudo glowered at me unamused.

Hakuba chose that moment to ruin it for me, "That poor boy, being taught be such an incompetent hot-head."

I turned to him "What did you say," I growled.

Frank-san quickly stepped between us, "Lets get back to the matter at hand, in case you've forgotten there's been a murder here."

I shot one last glare at Hakuba then asked, "Does anyone have a camera."

The three Americans were a bit thrown by this comment, "What?" asked Drew-chan.

"We will need to take pictures of the crime scene before we move the body or touch anything," answered Kudo.

Joe-san blinked in surprise, "You want us too move the body?"

"Haven't you ever dealt with a murder before?" I asked.

Joe-san looked uncomfortable, "Yes, but we usually leave messing with the body to the police."

Hakuba rolled his eyes, "I'm sure you remember how long it took to drive up the mountain to get here. By the time the police arrive the murder might get away, or destroy all evidence linking the him (or her) to the crime. It would be best to begin the investigation immediately"

Drew-chan held out her cell-phone, "My phone has a camera on it, will that work."

While Drew-chan took pictures the rest of us removed the body from where it was hanging and began a makeshift autopsy.

"The cause of death seems to be from a bullet, judging from the hole in his chest, It apparently went straight through and is most likely now embedded in the wall up there " said Hakuba, as he wrote everything down in his little note book.

I glanced up, "Then we'd better check the balcony."

After searching the room a bit Kudo and I were able to find a staircase that led to the balcony.

There wasn't much up there, just a door and a bookcase against the the wall opposite the veranda. I tried the door (locked) while Kudo examined the bookcase.

"Oi Hattori, I found the murder weapon," called Kudo.

I went and stood beside him and saw what he was talking about. Slipped between the books was a gun, further examination showed that the gun was set to a timer that would pull the trigger once time ran out. I pulled on a glove and carefully set the gun to safety so it wouldn't go off again on accident. Kudo and I then went back down to rejoin the other.

Kudo immediately put on his 'I'm-just-a-kid' face as I explained what we'd found. "That means we won't be able to determine the murder by their alibi at the time of death, the timer could have been set at any time by anyone who knew what time Jives-san would be up there."

"I wonder what he was doing up there anyway," muttered Drew-chan.

Frank-san shrugged "I assume he was there to see who would solve the riddle first."

Hakuba turned and began heading out the way we came in, "In any case we had better question our suspects, we should see who knew Jives-san would be here."

The rest of us glanced at each other than followed him.

* * *

**Kaito's POV**

'I knew this would happen.' That was all I could think when Mori-chan Callihan-chan and Tantei-diva announced that the butler was dead.

A few minutes ago the three girls along with Tantei-kun's little friends had come running in through the front door. Mori-chan had hurried the kids (most of whom were crying) into the dining hall, while Callihan-chan went running off after practically screaming at me to tell her where the phone was. Tantei-diva on the other hand came marching in and demanding everyone in the building to go into the dining hall and remain there until further notice, everyone did so willingly after watching her physically throw the Three Investigators in when they had refused (The Alden Kids were still shooting her terrified looks).

"Well at least no one can say the butler did it," muttered Arthur Drake-kun dryly after the initial shock of the news had worn off. Though that comment earned him several glares and an elbow in the ribs from his girlfriend.

I rolled my eyes, 'And like I said I knew something like this would happen. One tantei alone attracts enough bad luck, throw together a bunch of them and you have a recipe for blood and chaos. Why did I tag along with these guys again?' I sighed, even though a roomful of detectives is about as lucky an a footless rabbit it also meant there was a strong likelihood that killer would be caught in record time.

I was cut off from my mental rant when my three favorite tantei along with the Hardy brothers and Drew-chan entered the dining hall. It's show time.

**End Chapter 6**

* * *

A/N I have all new respect for Gosho Aoyama and all other murder mystery writers, I had no idea that it was so hard to come up with a way to kill someone. Again sorry that this story has been coming along at a snail's pase I'll try to speed up.


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